1. Field of the Invention
The invention is directed to laminates that have clothlike attributes and that act as barriers to passage of liquids and have improved resistance to viral passage. There are numerous uses for such laminates including disposable and limited use apparel such as surgeon's gowns and industrial workwear. Other applications include components of personal care products like disposable diapers, training pants, incontinence wear and feminine hygiene products. Barrier needs vary for such products, but are critical for medical products such as surgical drapes and gowns, for example. Film components can provide absolute barrier properties but are often uncomfortable and lack the ability to pass moisture vapor, i.e. breathe, while conventional nonwovens do not provide adequate protection for many applications. Laminates of breathable, lightweight films with nonwovens can meet the needs of many applications but, when bonded conventionally, compromise barrier protection for the most demanding medical applications. The field includes laminates having improved barrier properties especially adapted for such medical and other uses where improved barrier is especially important.
2. Background
The art is replete with references to laminates of films and nonwovens for medical and other applications. For example, coassigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,379,192 to Wahlquist and Shultz describes such laminates formed by a patterned application of heat and pressure to combined layers of a meltblown nonwoven and a polymeric film. The laminate is both an absorbent and an impervious barrier for medical applications. It is also known, for example, as taught in coassigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,695,868 to McCormack, to form laminates including breathable films for use as backing components of, e.g. disposable diapers. Particularly for medical applications demanding a high barrier level to viral penetration, it remains desired to provide a breathable material having improved barrier properties at a cost consistent with disposability and single use applications.